good varities for MN.

[Heirloom gard]

i live in MN, last year I grew all blue. I was wondering what types grow well in my area so that I can ask henry- staff at the friends school plant sale. I liked the all blue but want to try more than one type..

[Alpinejs]

I grow No. of you, just E. of Int'l Falls. Strawberry Margarita did very well for
me and the taste put it into my top ten group. PM me if you want to try s few
seeds.

[Heirloom gard]

okay, is it a hybrid or heirloom?

I heard of some fantastic heirlooms papa chaco among them.

[GunnarSK]

You'd better ask Durgan too, as he lives in northern Ontario and grows several including Russian Blue.

[NathanP]

Another good source of information might be Curzio at the Kenosha Potato Project. He is in Wisconsin so the climate might be similar. They focus on heirloom and rare varieties as opposed to more commercially available varieties.

http://kenoshapotato.com/

http://www.curzio.com/N/PotatoCatalog.htm

There is a Facebook group for this that can be used for asking questions:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/316831657858/

[Durgan]

I tend to grow what is available in the local supply stores which are basically the local commercial potato. Chieftain is the largest and usually I grow some of these. I notice quality depends much on weather conditions. Sometimes I add water but usually let nature takes its course. I only need about 100 pounds for Winter use.


http://www.durgan.org/URL/?NRHSB 5 September 2013 Russian Blue Potato Harvest.
Forty pounds of Russian blue potatoes were collected from eleven plants for 3.6 pounds average per plant.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?HSJDL 2 September 2013 Viking Potato Harvest
Fourteen Viking potato plants were harvested. The average yield was about 3 pounds per plant of very high quality large tubers.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?QSIBX 31 August 2013 Yukon Gold Harvest
Nine Yukon Gold potato plants were remaining after all the vegetation had died off. The average yield was 2.5 pounds per plant, which is low but the size and quality of the tubers is excellent. It has been a dry and relatively cold season. My normal yield for Yukon Gold is from 5 to 7 pounds, but conditions must be good.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?JQEQE 15 September 2012 Alaska Sweetheart Potatoes
Nine plants produced 26 pounds of potatoes averaging 2.9 pounds per plant. Weight per plant was 5.0, 1.14, 1.8, 4.6, 2.0, 3.4, 2.6, 2.12, 3.0. Number after the decimal is ounces. Excellent quality!

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RUDKB 15 September 2010 Chieftain Potatoes Harvested.
Chieftain is the king of the six types that I grow. The largest tuber was two pounds, and it was not hollow in the center. The tubers are prolific and very large.

[NathanP]

Durgan,
Your 6lbs per Chieftain plant is very impressive. I am growing a few Chieftain plants this year. I had several last year that I planted very late (July) that still produced 2+ lbs per plant.

How many total plants do you average per year? It looks like 43 plants in the top 4 listed above.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by NathanP

Durgan,
Your 6lbs per Chieftain plant is very impressive. I am growing a few Chieftain plants this year. I had several last year that I planted very late (July) that still produced 2+ lbs per plant.

How many total plants do you average per year? It looks like 43 plants in the top 4 listed above.

Usually between 75 and 100 plants are grown each year. Sometimes I order some seed stock on the internet, but find little need to do so except for the novelty of the situation. I have established the weight possible from each plant to my satisfaction. I always feel anything above four pounds per plant is more than acceptable. Eight pounds is about the upper limit.

[Alpinejs]

Just curious on the logistics. You guys are talking a lot of tomato plants and yet
talking the weight of the 'maters that came off each plant. How do you go about
weighing and recording for each plant? It seems to me that it would be a
bookkeeping nightmare. I am sure you have a better system than any I have
envisioned.

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Alpinejs

Just curious on the logistics. You guys are talking a lot of tomato plants and yet
talking the weight of the 'maters that came off each plant. How do you go about
weighing and recording for each plant? It seems to me that it would be a
bookkeeping nightmare. I am sure you have a better system than any I have
envisioned.

I have less than 75 plants and weight each plant as I dig it up. I mark the seed when planted with a stake to know where the centre of growth is located to reduce the amount of digging.

http://www.durgan.org/URL/?RUDKB 15 September 2010 Chieftain Potatoes Harvested.
Chieftain is the king of the six types that I grow. The largest tuber was two pounds, and it was not hollow in the center. The tubers are prolific and very large.

Tomato plants are a misery, since one must record at different times with picking taking place over the length of the season. I generally average over the season, which is really not too informative regards information of each type of tomato. This year I will record more carefully and do each plant as I pick. I will probably have about 20 plants and five varieties.

[salix]

Alpine, I believe the main part of the conversation is about potatoes, not tomatoes...

[Alpinejs]

salix....not my fault if they can't spell tomatoes.